Shorts Newsletter - 12 August

With last night's news of community transmission again of Covid-19 and the heightened alert levels we know there will be concerns, particularly in Auckland where this will be impacting current productions, and live music gigs again.

We wish to assure the production community that we have prepared for this possibility.

If your production is impacted, please check our responding to Covid-19 page in the first instance. Please also contact your primary platform and NZ On Air staff to let us know about your short-term production plan changes. If your funded music delivery will be impacted please contact us to let us know.

NZ On Air will be willing to adjust your drawdown amounts in order to resolve your cashflow issues. If you believe you require additional investment in order to deliver your funded content, we do have funding reserved for this use.

We want to be clear that you must have exhausted other options, such as insurance and contingency, and be able to clearly identify both the additional costs and the detrimental impact on the content. We have a set of criteria we will apply which you can read here.

Please email your application to benedict@nzonair.govt.nz. We will attempt to process as quickly as possible, but please allow up to three weeks for a decision.

Our September funding round has now closed - this round is primarily for production applications intended to reflect and/or appeal to targeted audiences.

Our funding team is now busy assessing 209 submissions including:

• 74 Scripted and Factual productions
• 8 Development applications
• 72 HEIHEI production and games applications
• 8 Industry Development Fund applications
• 15 New Music Projects
• 32 New Music Kids Projects

Thank you to everyone who submitted applications to this round. Applicants should expect to be notified from the 30th of September.

In the coming weeks NZ On Air will start issuing an updated Production Contract (as we had advised we would in previous newsletters). We are currently in the late stages of consultation with producers (via SPADA) and some platforms.

The updates to the contract are generally small but if you wish to have the opportunity to be consulted on the changes to our terms and conditions please contact Benedict@nzonair.govt.nz before August 20th.

NZ On Air is delighted to welcome two new hires to our team!

Sylvia Betham joins NZ On Air as our new Music Contracts & Administration Assistant, bringing to the office 10 years of administration and customer service experience and a passion for New Zealand music.

Luke Campbell is our new Assistant Accountant. Born and bred in Taranaki, Luke has recently completed a Master’s in Professional Accounting at Victoria University and was a volunteer paramedic for St John in Auckland for four years – so is a great addition to our Health and Safety team!